Hi guys, I know there is an existing topic on the Indigo, but not sure if its on the Virus C version and I need more specifics...

I currently have a MicroKorg, and I have made some cool sounds with it, seeing as most presets suck. After finishing my Diploma in Graphic Design, I am looking at a full time job, so I will have money to buy a new synth as I want to expand my skills.

Anyway, I just read a couple of reviews, but I want to know what people on here think of it... what do you like about it, what is annoying, where is the best place to buy a new one from and how much should I be looking at?

I like that it is supposed to sound dark and heavy, with some good dance/trance sounds, I like its appearance and size.

Will it help me develop good skills in building synth sounds? I hear people talking about gating and sending things through filters and confusing (to me) stuff like that, and want to understand it and able to know what to do when I want to change a sound in a certain way. I am not expecting to turn into a synth expert or anything.

No way, no-how.Although you could certainly program similar sounds into the virus manually; I prefer this approach myself partly because (generally) I really enjoy programming my synths, partly because I'll sometimes veer off in a different direction and create an interesting sound that's totally unique, and partly because I will occasionally learn something in the process.

or somehow play the indigo using a korg sound via midi or something and be able to easily change between the korg and indigo

The easiest thing I think would be to connect the two with a pair of midi cables (or just one if you have no desire for the MK to 'talk' to the Virus). I'm not familiar with the midi spec of either synth, but it ought to be as simple as that to play one from the other, assuming they're set to send/receive data on the same channel.

or would i be best to just have the two of them on stage and alternate between them depending on the song?

That works too, and you'll look that much more badass ; of course you'd need both on stage anyway to connect them via midi.

You can probably get close approximations of your korg patches by programming them on the virus but realize every synth has characteristics that are unique. Both the virus indigo 1 and 2 are no longer available new. The newest version is the TI Virus Polar. A used TI Polar will cost a little under $2000 and over $2000 new. You can pick up a used indigo 1 (virus b) for around $800-$900. I’m not sure how much the indigo 2 goes for as they don’t seem to pop up real often. Ebay is probably your best bet. The virus is a deep synth, has a lot of control but also has a lot of menus and can take a while to completely wrap your head around. It’s a great sounding VA.

how does the Virus C compare with the Virus TI?
I just need to connect one of those to a midi controller right? ...and then i can play that with the virus sitting on top and edit the sounds using the virus, right? i dont like to incorporate computers into my music because i want to be able to play it live with out a computer.

i dont want a big keyboard like the TI Keyboard and im not a big fan of the look of the Polar (im a graphic designer so im really anal about things like that)

how does the Virus C compare with the Virus TI? I just need to connect one of those to a midi controller right? ...and then i can play that with the virus sitting on top and edit the sounds using the virus, right? i dont like to incorporate computers into my music because i want to be able to play it live with out a computer.

i dont want a big keyboard like the TI Keyboard and im not a big fan of the look of the Polar (im a graphic designer so im really anal about things like that)

thanks for your help.

I'm actually a big fan of the Polar looks: minimal, white, retro-futuristic. I think the indigo looks 90's but whatever, not the point. If you look at the Access web-site they have a feature comparison chart of their newer and older synths. Due to the price of a new access synth, the older models are relative bargains. I imagine you can count on a lot of depreciation. If you get a desktop module (no keyboard) all you need is a controller + midi cable.